Ageing hamster

Question
My daughters hamster is about 18months old. We have noticed that the left eye looks cloudy in the middle. Is this serious? Is there anything we need to be doing?
Also, his nails are quite long and starting to bend at the tips - should we be trying to cut them?


Answer
Hi Elle

Sadly when hamsters reach this sort of age they can start getting things wrong with them.  The cloudiness in his eye could be a cataract - if so, there is nothing that can be done.  Does the eye look sore at all?  Does your hamster seemed bothered by it?  What is his general behaviour like - is he acting normally or does he appear duller than usual?  If you think that his eye is bothering him, then it would be advisable to get a vet to have a look as sometimes hamsters can get quite painful eye infections and it would need treating and eye drops/cream.

If he has gone blind in this eye, then that in itself isn't a problem.  Hamster's eyesight is poor anyway.  The key thing is to try and keep his cage the same way round - especially when you clean him out try and put everything back in its place so he knows where things are.  Make sure his food and water are on the same level and easy to access without climbing etc.

Regarding his claws - these can sometimes grow long especially when the hamster is elderly.  You can trim these but don't cut them short - if you cut them too far you will make them bleed.  If they are curling under you literally want to take off the tips only.  They have a blood supply in the centre and you don't want to cut this.  It is best to cut them with a special pair of nail trimmers (rather than a pair of scissors).  You can buy these from pet shops or your vet may sell them.  If any do bleed, then bathe with warm salt water to prevent infection.

Hope you get on OK

Regards